A medical evacuation plane carrying a child, mother, and four crew members crashed near Roosevelt Mall in Philadelphia on Friday night, killing everyone on board and one on the ground.
Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, the operator of the Learjet 55, confirmed the aircraft went down shortly after departing Northeast Philadelphia Airport around 6:30 p.m. All six victims were Mexican nationals, including a pilot, co-pilot, physician, and paramedic.
The Learjet 55 had just departed Northeast Philadelphia Airport and was scheduled to stop in Springfield for refueling. The young patient had been receiving treatment at Shriners Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia and was returning home when the tragedy occurred.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed condolences and instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support the victims’ families. Shriners Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia confirmed that the child was one of their patients but did not release further details.
Debris scattered across the crash site, and several people on the ground were injured, including an 11-year-old boy, a 31-year-old man, and a 30-year-old woman. Officials praised the swift response of emergency crews, though the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
The tragedy follows a deadly aircraft collision near Washington, D.C., earlier in the week.
